


Drowned in Disbelief

by BetterYouThanMe



Series: Harry Potter Drabbles [54]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: "Non-magical" AU, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Lavender does die but it is not graphic, Witch Hunts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-01
Updated: 2020-02-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:08:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22509826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BetterYouThanMe/pseuds/BetterYouThanMe
Summary: Her lungs threatened to give out as her legs tried not to collapse. She forgot how long she had been running for since the hours melted into each other. She was going to die.
Series: Harry Potter Drabbles [54]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/826257





	Drowned in Disbelief

Her lungs threatened to give out as her legs tried not to collapse. She forgot how long she had been running for since the hours melted into each other. She was going to die.

The crowd seemed distant. Their screams of hatred melted into the howling wind. She couldn't let them fool her though. If what they thought of her was true, and it wasn't, her death would be the first of many.

Lavender Brown was many things but she was not a witch. She hadn't meant any harm to anyone in her small village. So many other girls who acted like her would be accused. She couldn't let them down.

All she wanted to do was learn simple ways to help heal the people around her. Just to make some extra money for her family and the very people she helped were chasing her through the woods with the hopes to kill her.

Running probably wasn't the best idea but the court released her case and everyone else was angry about it. The facts proved she was right. That she wasn't a witch but they desperately craved for her to be. An answer to their question of why their village was falling apart. They couldn't have upset God and this was their punishment. Lavender was clearly working with the Devil and the punishment was hers to bear alone.

She knew their plan was to throw her in the river. Whether she would sink or float would prove her worth. Except the river wasn't calm today it swirled with a maelstrom that Lavender had never seen before. Her fate was written. No matter what she would die to that river today.

She would surely get pulled under the unruly water which would prove her innocence but kill her instantly. If somehow she survived by floating they would execute her themselves.

Her mind kept telling her that she would have to catch her first but she couldn't keep it up any longer. Her body begged for rest. Their shouts were gaining and she could hear them snapping twigs behind her. She was trapped.

* * *

They caught her when her dress was snagged on some thorns. It cut her legs and dug into her skin. Blood mixed with the dirt as they grabbed at her.

Judgment waited for its chance to determine her fate.

The river swirled with rage as the maelstrom made its home in the river. It was teasing her. Calling her to find comfort in its darkness. Maybe giving up was a good idea. The fight would be over. No longer could they push their blame onto her. Lavender could finally let them rot into their wounds. They would see their wrongs. How much they needed her but they were the cause of her death. It gave Lavender some joy to know that they would realize their mistake.

They pushed her forward towards the rushing water. Their chants of execution rose as the crashing of the maelstrom invaded her hearing. As if they were yelling louder to prove that no matter what she did her death had arrived.

With a slow breath, she walked into the water. The current threatened to pull her in and she accepted her fate. Their will was as fitful as the whirlpool they threw her into. As the water filled her lungs she gave up her fight and succumbed to the maelstrom. It won. They won. She lost.

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on my Fanfiction.net page  
> https://www.fanfiction.net/u/5665438/BetterYouThanMe


End file.
